Illy coffee workshop pours it on

THE GOOD LIFE Pros and nonpros alike learn everything from cultivation to production at Culinary Institute of America at Greystone's intensive Illy workshop

Sarah Adler

Updated 3:10 am, Monday, July 30, 2012

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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Latte art was taught by Giorgio Milos, Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program to professionals and consumers. less

Latte art was taught by Giorgio Milos, Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program to professionals and ... more

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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The CIA at Greystone now offers "Coffee: From the Plant to the Cup" taught by illy's University of Coffee professors in conjunction Master Barista Giorgio Milos (pictured here). The course is designed to turn coffee lovers into ambassadors. less

The CIA at Greystone now offers "Coffee: From the Plant to the Cup" taught by illy's University of Coffee professors in conjunction Master Barista Giorgio Milos (pictured here). The course is designed to turn ... more

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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Latte art was taught by Giorgio Milos, Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program to professionals and consumers. less

Latte art was taught by Giorgio Milos, Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program to professionals and ... more

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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Giorgio Milos shows the class that the steam is okay to touch. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals and consumers.

Giorgio Milos shows the class that the steam is okay to touch. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals and consumers.

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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Giorgio Milos (left) teaches David Gates (right), from Inglenook Winery, how to pour the milk properly. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals and consumers. less

Giorgio Milos (left) teaches David Gates (right), from Inglenook Winery, how to pour the milk properly. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals ... more

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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David Gates (left) and Megan Shaw of Inglenook Winery laugh as Giorgio Milos makes a joke during the Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone's coffee education program.

David Gates (left) and Megan Shaw of Inglenook Winery laugh as Giorgio Milos makes a joke during the Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone's coffee education program.

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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Giorgio Milos explains the process of warming milk to the perfect temperature. As Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè, he travels the U.S. hosting illy Master Barista Series events.

Giorgio Milos explains the process of warming milk to the perfect temperature. As Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè, he travels the U.S. hosting illy Master Barista Series events.

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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Sarah Futhey from San Francisco demonstrates some latte art. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals and consumers.

Sarah Futhey from San Francisco demonstrates some latte art. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals and consumers.

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

Image 9 of 11

Latte art was taught by Giorgio Milos, Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program to professionals and consumers. less

Latte art was taught by Giorgio Milos, Master Barista for Trieste, Italy-based illy caffè. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program to professionals and ... more

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

Image 10 of 11

Giorgio Milos (left) teaches David Gates (right), from Inglenook Winery, how to pour the milk properly. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals and consumers. less

Giorgio Milos (left) teaches David Gates (right), from Inglenook Winery, how to pour the milk properly. Illy and The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone offer a coffee education program for professionals ... more

Photo: Sean Culligan, The Chronicle

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Illy coffee workshop pours it on

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When it comes to learning latte art, Giorgio Milos takes a Zen approach: Spill the milk, make a mess.

"The secret to pouring is you have to separate your brain from your hand," said Milos, the master barista for Illy, addressing a crowd of culinary professionals attending an intensive two-day Coffee Expert workshop at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena.

"Keep pouring even when the cup becomes full; go to this place where you don't think and watch the magic as patterns appear in the crema and microfoam."

The institute partnered with the Trieste, Italy, coffee company to formally bring Illy's University of Coffeeeducation program to professionals in April. The classes are full-on caffeinated immersions, from bean to cup, covering coffee history and theory, cultivation, transformation and production.

A version of the classes is also being offered to nonprofessional coffee purists this Aug. 7-8 for the first time. Coffee: From the Plant to the Cup ($595 for the course) will include lessons on grinding and tamping techniques and also cover the many myths and facts surrounding coffee consumption, and, of course, how to best enjoy a freshly prepared cup.

During the spring course, attendees from Neiman Marcus, Solage Calistoga, Inglenook Winery, the Lodge at Sonoma and the Mandarin Oriental practiced their sipping techniques. Between sips of single-origin Arabica coffees from Brazil, Guatemala and Ethiopia, Milos instructed everyone to slurp.

"Slurping allows you to vaporize the coffee and perceive more flavors than sipping," he said. "Don't choke, but take a deep breath and inhale the coffee - pushing the flavors around in your mouth before you swallow and exhale."

Kevin Garvin, vice president of Food and Beverage at Neiman Marcus, obliged. He said he decided to bring his team to experience a new way of looking at one of the world's most common beverages.

"Illy called on us a couple of years ago, and what I saw was the passion about not trying to sell me coffee, but the whole experience," said Garvin, a Culinary Institute of America alum. For Milos, who for 17 years has traveled the world hosting coffee events like these, said the company's dedication to education also included a recently opened bakery at the institute to train students about running a cafe and how to serve specialty coffee.

"Coffee is such a great beverage," he says, "and if you drink it mindfully, it's a wonderful experience."

Coffee: From the Plant to the Cup: For more information on upcoming classes, go to bit.ly/OmQCNy